Cal Grant A- An Investment

The state of California and I have never been friends. I attribute that to growing up with a father who detested most forms of government, but I eventually realized that not all government is evil. Which is good, considering the family I'm marrying into.

However, the state of California, well specifically, Jerry Brown, (that man has been governor far too many times) has officially made me mad. They are threatening something that is very dear to me, and I will not let them take it easily.

Cal Grant A. For those of you who still think that all financial aid is called The Fafsa, allow me to explain.

The FAFSA is a form that you fill out using your parents' (and your own) taxes to see if you qualify for financial aid to attend college. If you do, you are awarded a series of awards, based on your EFC or "estimated family contribution". The estimated family contribution of my family is $0.00. Yep, we're pretty broke. That pretty much means the nice people FAFSA people realize that my mom doesn't have a single penny to contribute to my education. They got something right! However, schools still make you take out (or scrounge for) thousands of dollars worth of loans to bridge the gap between scholarships, financial aid, and birthday money. Or whatever. The point is, low income students who fill out the FAFSA don't get free rides. Their financial aid letters are written to seem that way, but it doesn't work that way.

So for those of you bemoaning your lack of FAFSA, two things. A). Get your terms straight. B). Next time you use your debit card your parents gave you to access money they gave to put gas in the car they gave you..... Remember, people like myself don't get to do that.

So basically, there are two major awards that the state of California gives people like myself. (Note: you have to have a minimum GPA to qualify, etc...)

Cal Grant A--Which has a MAXIMUM amount of 9,600. It's actually like 9,640 or some random number but $9,600 is cleaner. That means that not everyone who qualifies for Cal Grant A gets that amount. It's people like my family, with those EFCs of $0.00 that get the whole thing. (Actually, this year, my EFC was $600.00 because I gave too many showers at WestHaven and made too much money. Bad, Susie. Shame on you for working. They also took away my insurance. It was wonderful.)

And Cal Grant B--which you can use for four year schools and community colleges. Now, I have no problem with the students who use them for their four years, but too many students who get 4 grand from Cal Grant B waste that money. Seriously. My siblings and I were among the minority at Butte Community College who got a full Cal Grant B package and still worked full time. Most of "my fellow" (they were nothing like me) students there used that money to chill at home and smoke pot. Seriously.

So, it would make sense to cut Cal Grant B for community colleges, since the students are getting an excess of thousands of dollars and using that money to live on and smoke pot, instead of getting jobs!

But that would make too much sense.

So Gov. Jerry Brown is re-elected AGAIN! and decides he wants to help balance the budget. That's a good thing, right.. Yes, it is. Except, he decides to do it in the most Ellsworth Toohey like way.

Not really, but Ellsworth Toohey is a pretty despicable character.

He decides to cut the maximum amount independent, non-profit schools (like Cal Baptist, Simpson, William Jessup, Masters, Biola, Vangaurd, etc) can give their Cal Grant A students in nearly half. That's right. It goes from $9,600 to $5,000. And if this bills go through, it goes effect in the fall of this year. The Fall. Financial Aid awards have already been given, freshmen need to choose their schools now, juniors and seniors can't transfer because they've almost completed their studies, but now they can't pay for school because they've lost almost 10 grand a year.

And what would happen if all the Cal Grant A students transferred to public universities. The already over-crowded, class-dropping schools would explode. It will be mayhem. No one could get classes. Public schools are already telling their students that graduation will take 5 to 6 years instead of 4. Adding thousands of students from private schools will only make that worse.

Jerry Brown doesn't even give us a chance to re-group. Freshmen can't decide to go to different schools, or just CLEP out of everything they can. Sophmores can't do research where to transfer. Juniors and Seniors are completely undone because transferring will be a huge waste of time and money, and extend their collegiate careers for extra years.

Cal Grant A is a huge investment in the future of our economy. At a time when unemployment is in the double digits and blue collar jobs are being eaten up by overseas companies and technology, the workforce of the 21st century has to go to school in order to be able to keep the of the U.S. going. Cal Grant A gives that opportunity to the less fiscally blessed middle class.

There is something we can, though!

http://signon.org/sign/maintain-the-maximum.fb1?source=s.fb&r_by=2503165

Copy and paste this link into the browser of your choice and keep the educational system of CA from collapsing.

In all of the five seconds it takes to sign the petition, you can ensure that our public schools don't explode and completely collapse, that our private schools stay open, and that people like my siblings and I can go to college and keep our economy going.

It doesn't matter if you're a public or private university fan, this bill affects everyone. If students can't go to private schools, it will make the situation in public universities even more difficult. Eventually people will quit going to school. Not find jobs. And our economy will collapse. Make your tax dollars count!

It's not welfare. It's an investment.

Governments have a tendency not to solve problems, only to rearrange them.

RONALD REAGAN